


The Forever Home

by SmackTheDevil



Series: The J2 Christmas Anthology [2]
Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Boys Kissing, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Dogs, Falling In Love, Fluff, Happy Ending, M/M, Meet-Cute, No Smut, Romance, Vegetarians & Vegans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-02
Updated: 2020-12-02
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:35:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27843100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SmackTheDevil/pseuds/SmackTheDevil
Summary: Jensen Ackles had devoted his life to the welfare of dogs since he was 14 years old and put aside everything else, including friends and family to care for the animals he loved so much.On Christmas Eve, Jensen was quite happy staying behind at the shelter he lived above so that his four-legged charges weren't alone for the holidays. Thing was, Jensen tended to not think about his own personal needs very much or that of any human but an after dark knock on the door was about to change everything.
Relationships: Jensen Ackles/Jared Padalecki
Series: The J2 Christmas Anthology [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2036215
Comments: 9
Kudos: 219





	The Forever Home

**Author's Note:**

> 'The Forever Home' is story two of The J2 Christmas Anthology, a series of twelve festive short stories for the holiday season!
> 
> *This fic contains mentions of a past dog death and abandonment but does not go into great detail, it's all about the positive*

Jensen never thought of himself as an underachiever. Just because he forewent college in favor of devoting his life to dogs never meant that he had wasted an opportunity to perhaps find a better job in the future. For Jensen there was no better job than managing Pine Hill Dog Rescue Center in his home state of Maine and the small friendly town of Cliff Face which had been his home all his life. It was beautiful and familiar which meant Jensen couldn’t imagine being anywhere else in the world. His parents were dismayed by what they believed to be their twenty-four year old sons lack of ambition and even more so when he told them to spend the college money they had set aside for him on themselves. It wasn’t as if the Ackles’ had struggled to make ends meet by squirreling away money to fund Jensen’s education but they were no less annoyed when their son turned it down, choosing what they saw as a lowly life cleaning up dog crap. The job was more than that for Jensen, it was about the dogs that came into the center, the puppies no one wanted, the old dogs who were frail and looking for comfort at the end of their lives. Someone had to look after them and Jensen believed he was the one to do it.

Jensen had started as a volunteer at Pine Hill when he was fourteen, his parents would have preferred him to find a paying job like a paper route or cleaning the neighbors cars but Jensen wanted to help the dogs and got so much joy out of it that he didn’t care about not being paid. It kept him occupied and taught him a great deal about life, in that sometimes when it comes to the abuse of animals, the human race were the absolute worst. At eighteen, Jensen had worked his way up, found himself in a paid role and never looked back.

“I’m not going to college, the dogs need me.” Jensen had told his folks the day after he had accepted the job.

“But we have all that money, you’ll never get far in life doing such menial work.”

“My dogs need me. It’s not menial, it’s important. Dad, why don’t you buy yourself a boat?”

Pine Hill had gone from strength to strength ever since Jensen took over but his parents never understood the importance of his job or how stressful and sad it often was. At twenty he moved out of the family home and rented the small apartment above Pine Hill so he could be there for his furry charges twenty-four-seven.

“I love those dogs more than I love life.” Jensen had told his number two, Bob who was a hard worker for sure but not a workhorse like Jensen was. 

It wasn’t unusual for Jensen to bring some of the dogs into his apartment because sadly the kennels at Pine Hill were often at full capacity. Jensen rarely slept alone.

*

When Christmas was full of promises of snow, candy canes and gifts under the tree Jensen loved it but then he grew up and discovered that it wasn’t as magical as he had been lead to believe. Jensen was just fourteen when he found out that over half a million dogs are euthanized in the country every year due to abandonment and lack of space in rescue centers. At Christmas Jensen was constantly reminded of humanities blatant disregard for the animals they shared the earth with and every Christmas, every day it broke his heart to pieces.

Jensen’s latest housemate was a huge but aging Golden Retriever called Sam who had come to the rescue center with his big brother Dean who was too sick to even make comfortable. Sam had been inconsolable when Dean was taken away, worse still when he hadn’t come back. Jensen had learned that dogs grieved just as humans did and did everything he could to make Sam’s last years his happiest. And it turned out that after a little healing and a ton of loving scritches, Sam was the most loyal, adorable dog Jensen had ever known. Sam went everywhere with Jensen; to work, to sleep and they even sat at the table together for breakfast and dinner. Sam was there to welcome the newbies into the center and behaved as if he worked there, which in many ways, he did. Some days, Sam would have quiet moments and Jensen respected those because he knew Sam still missed his brother. Jensen knew he was a poor substitute for their brotherly bond. Dogs had soul mates too, and Dean had been Sam’s.

The center had not long closed, Jensen had just fed all the dogs their evening meal while Sam followed him around, waiting patiently for his own dinner. Once they had been fed, the dogs were mostly quiet and tired from a short run around the playground which sat at that back of the building. Jensen had lived like a pauper to help fund the playground, hating seeing his charges stuck inside all day and the dogs loved it and seemed to know that Jensen was responsible for their daily workout, it wasn’t unusual for him to find himself mobbed by a gang of overexcited canines all vying for his attention with big eyes, frantic tails and licky tongues. It was Jensen’s favorite time of the day. Once he had rounded them all up with the help of Sam who turned sheep dog at that time of day, he dimmed the lights and walked up the stairs to his tiny apartment. Halfway up, Jensen heard a loud rattling noise echoing through the center. Sam barked and immediately tippy tapped down the stairs, moving in slow circles alerting Jensen as if he hadn’t even heard it. 

“It’s okay, buddy.” Jensen said, slowly descending the stairs to investigate the noise which had by then abruptly stopped. He gave Sam’s head a quick rub as he walked through to reception to check the main doors, it wasn’t unusual for people to rattle the front doors if they were locked but that time, no one was there. Jensen checked the back door that opened out to the courtyard, which was nothing more than a small paved area with dumpsters, he unlocked the door noisily because dumpster divers weren’t uncommon; although he wondered why anyone would go through trash created mostly by dogs. As he opened the door, he noticed that there was a weighted plastic grocery bag swinging from the door knob which almost slid off as he turned it. And then the bag whimpered. “Oh God, and here we go.” Jensen grumbled.

The puppy which Jensen immediately identified as a Boxer gasped for breath as he lifted the bag and opened it up. The little boy was barely two or three months old and was shivering through cold and fear. Sam was instantly interested but Jensen kept him at arms length as he held the tiny puppy in his arms.

“Oh you lovely little thing. Hello.” Jensen said softly, half angry and half sad which tended to be his most common mood. At first glance, the puppy seemed to be healthy, even though he was cold but Jensen tucked him inside his work fleece as he closed and locked the back door up. Just as he did that, another rattle came from the public end of the center. Sam barked again and gave Jensen a kind of ‘ _What now?_ ’ look. “I have no idea, buddy.” He sighed, walking back through the center and kindly shushing a few of the dogs who had been disturbed by all the commotion.

“Can I come in? I want to adopt a dog!” The voice came from a tall, nervous looking man pressed up against the glass window and clutching what looked like a handful of folded bills.

“We’re closed, I’m sorry. You’ll have to come back after Christmas.” Jensen said, standing on the other side of the door, voice raised.

“But, I’ve been saving up.” The young man said, pressing the bills against the door. “Please. I had to work late and couldn’t get here in time.”

“I’m really sorry, sir but it’s not like you can come in here and just adopt a dog. We have to visit your home, do security and safety checks. I’m so sorry but you’ll have to come back another day.”

“Oh.” The man slumped and took a step back from the door then glanced sadly at the money in his hand. Jensen felt the stranger looked as sad and rejected as some of his dogs but rules were rules.

“Come back in a couple of days, yeah?” Jensen smiled kindly because the young man was sweet looking and kind of very pretty. Sam decided to step in by dragging one of his paws down Jensen’s leg then walking to the door. Sam whimpered then gave Jensen another tap. “You want me to let him in?” He chuckled and Sam wagged his tail immediately. Even after such a short time together, Sam was hard to resist. “Alright then.” Jensen tapped on the glass since the young man had started to shuffle away along the sidewalk. “You can come in.” He said, unlocking the door and opening it slowly. Sam was doing senior dog circles of excitement as the man stepped inside.

“Thank you.” The man nodded, still clutching his money but smiling as Sam gave him a nice welcome. “I like him.”

“That’s Sam, he’s mine.” Jensen chuckled, locking the door. “I’m afraid I can’t let you take a dog home tonight for the reasons I just mentioned but I’m happy for you to see all our boys and girls. It’s bedtime though, so you’ll have to be quiet.” 

“Okay. I really am so sorry for coming so late and not reading the rules about adoption. I should have really, I feel dumb now.”

“That’s alright.” Jensen smiled then watched the man grin broadly as the puppy tucked inside Jensen’s jacket poked his head out, curious as to what all the talking was about.

“Oh my goodness.” The young man chuckled.

“This one is a little no name, I just found him in a plastic bag outside.”

“Oh God, you didn’t?” The man gasped, slapping a hand over his mouth.

“Occupational hazard. It sucks like you wouldn’t believe but he’s safe now, that’s all that matters.”

“People are evil.”

“Yes, I tend to agree with that observation.” Jensen chuckled sadly. “Hey, do I know you? You look really familiar.”

“Maybe.” The man shrugged, petting the puppy’s little head.  
“Um, I work at Clubway. That might be it.”

“Oh yeah, that’s it.” Jensen grinned. “The sandwich place that does club sandwiches instead of-”

“Subs, yeah. That’s the one.” The young man grinned. “I’m Jared by the way.”

“Jensen.”

“I know, you come in a lot with your name badge on. I should have one for work, but I kept losing them so my boss stopped giving them to me because he said no one cared what my name is anyways.” Jared shrugged.

“Oh, I’m sorry. That’s quite rude. I care.” Jensen smiled then handed the pup to Jared carefully. “There, hold him. He might like you.”

“Oh.” Jared chuckled, awkwardly taking the pup and holding him against his chest. Sam was almost grinning as he stood by Jensen’s feet. “I definitely like him. How can people be so cruel?”

“That is a question I ask myself several times a day and I still haven’t come up with an adequate answer.”

“You do a great job here. It must be very rewarding."

“The end game is, yes.” Jensen nodded, smiling as he watched Jared and the pup bond. “Um, do you mind, or rather would you like to come up to my apartment? I need to feed Sam here.” He said, rubbing Sam’s head who was sitting quite patiently and pressed up against Jensen’s legs. Just observing.

“If that’s not too much trouble?”

“Of course not. I need to feed the pup too and he looks very comfortable in your arms.”

“I love him already.” Jared grinned.

*

Sam ate his dinner with one eye on Jared and Jensen, it was mostly protection mode because Sam had become loyal to Jensen very quickly but there was a little bit of excitement there too, as if Sam knew that Jensen needed a friend who didn’t pee all over his rugs. Jared helped feed the pup, sitting with him on his lap while Jensen prepared a quick meal of pasta having invited Jared in for dinner too because Jared looked a little down and out and skinny.

“He’s very hungry.” Jared muttered, stroking the pups back as he gobbled down a bowl of food from the kitchen table.

“I’m not surprised.” Jensen sighed. “I’ll take him to the vet after Christmas. He seems healthy but it’s always good to check thoroughly. Poor little thing, look at him now though.” He grinned. “Do you think you want to keep him?”

“I might.” Jared nodded. “I was looking to adopt an older dog because people overlook them but I’m falling in love here.” 

“Hm, it’s easy to do.” Jensen nodded, observing Jared and not the adorable pup.

“What’s Sam’s story, have you had him long?"

“A few months, he’s ten. He’s getting old and he’s been grieving since his brother Dean died.”

“Oh no.” Jared said sadly, watching Sam haul himself up onto Jensen’s couch and curl up, still smacking his lips from dinner. “He seems like a good companion.”

“Sam is. He’s living his best life and just doing his best. Like we all are I guess. I think he’s just waiting for the rainbow bridge so he can be with Dean again.”

“Oh God.” Jared sniffed, shaking his head as hot tears filled his eyes. “You really love these dogs, don’t you?”

“With all my heart.” Jensen nodded, setting he and Jared’s food on the table which piqued the pups interest. And livened from his first meal at the center, attempted to mount the table and go for the plates of pasta.

“Even the trouble makers.” Jensen chuckled watching Jared grapple with the puppy. 

“I’d love to work here.”

“Would you?”

“Hm.” Jared nodded thoughtfully. “I make sandwiches for a living, I feel like I want to do something worthwhile.”

“Everyone gets hungry though.” Jensen chuckled.

“I guess. I don’t have any family or any friends if I’m honest, so it would be nice to hang out with the dogs. They love you unconditionally, don’t they?”

“We don’t deserve them.” Jensen said softly. “Are you going to be alone for Christmas then?”

“Yeah.” Jared nodded sadly. “I have been for the past two years, so I’m used to it. Are you staying here for Christmas?”

“Yes, I live here.” Jensen smirked gesturing into the air.

“Oh yeah, duh.”

“The dogs are my family, well the family I prefer to be with. I get them gifts every year and we all have Christmas dinner together.” Jensen chuckled. “It’s chaos but I love it.”

“You won’t see you own family then?”

“After probably.”

“Oh.” Jared nodded. “No girlfriend?”

“Nope.” Jensen smirked, looking up from smothering his pasta with freshly ground pepper.

“Boyfriend?” Jared grinned knowingly.

“Not for a while. You?”

“I don’t have a girlfriend and I haven’t had a boyfriend for a while.”

“Oh, interesting.” Jensen winked. “It’s hard to find a boyfriend who doesn’t mind that I stink of dog."

“I wouldn’t mind.”

“No, I don’t think you would.” 

*

Jared hung around after dinner, not that he had any pressing engagements elsewhere unless he counted the frozen pizza and evening of Netflix he had waiting for him back at his apartment. That was nothing special, it was what he did every night when he wasn’t working the late shift at Clubway. And Jensen was oddly comfortable with his company, odd in that he never went out of his way to seek human interaction. The people who worked with him were colleagues, nothing more because the work Jensen had been doing since he was fourteen years old was the most important thing in his life. Jared though, slowly over the course of the evening, helped Jensen realize that people had good virtues too. Jared was funny and caring, lovely to look at and seemed to love dogs as much as Jensen did, which meant he definitely surpassed a few of his colleagues when it came to appreciation for mans best friend. Jared had been dropping hints all evening about his wanting to work with the dogs, Jensen had no paid positions available but came up with another option.

“You could always come in and volunteer.” Jensen smiled, watching Jared hold the pup like a human baby who was zonked out and sound asleep in his arms. Sam was snoozing too, twitching through doggy dreams about Dean no doubt.

“Could I?” Jared sat up with renewed interest.

“Of course, some people come in to volunteer just to score points or to fluff up their resumés so it would be nice to have someone who actually cares work here. I can’t pay you because we’re a charity, it’s only me and two others who earn a paycheck here.”

“Oh, I don’t mind. Hanging out with these guys would be reward enough.” Jared smiled, lifting the pup in his arms and kissing his tiny head. “And you of course.”

“Me?” Jensen chuckled with genuine surprise in his voice.

“Hm. I like you.” Jared said shyly.

“Well, I like you too. You’ve reminded me that people can be good.” Jensen nodded. 

“Thank you for tonight, it’s made my Christmas.”

“It’s not Christmas yet.” Jensen grinned.

“I know but I’ll be happier tomorrow knowing that I’ve met you, that I’ll come and help out here and obviously this little guy.” Jared looked down at the pup who was quietly snoring.

“Are you going to adopt him?” Jensen said quietly.

“Yes, I mean if I pass all the checks.”

“I’m sure you will. I’d let you have him, you care. You need to think of a name for him now.”

“Oh I do.” Jared grinned. “I think I’m going to call him Dean.” The moment Jared said the name, Sam lifted his head from the comfort of the couch.

“I think you had better ask permission.” Jensen chuckled. Jared got up from the armchair he had been curled up in and knelt next to Sam who was still sleepy but alert. He held the pup next to Sam who sniffed and nuzzled him but didn’t wake him.

“How would you like for me to name this little boy Dean, huh buddy?” Jared chuckled and Jensen was charmed, as charmed as he’s always been around his beloved dogs. People had generally left him feeling cold and uninterested but Jared was someone special. Sam’s tail beat against the couch with approval and he lifted a paw as if wanting Jared to shake on the deal.

“I think that’s a yes.” Jensen smiled.

“I think so too.”

“Don’t go home tonight, spend Christmas with me and the gang. I’d really like it if you could and these two would too.”

“Are you sure?”

“Hm.” Jensen nodded. “Stay.” He said softly. 

Jared slept curled up on the couch, a tall boy who didn’t seem to mind folding himself up and snuggling with Dean who really knew how to sleep deep. Jensen said goodnight and wandered into his bedroom with Sam in tow but not before tucking a blanket around Jared’s body and stroking his long hair from his face. 

“See you in the morning. Sleep well.”

“You too.” Jared said sleepily.

*

The sound of the dogs down in the center kennels woke Jensen up as they always did, they were his furry alarm clocks every day of his life and it was much more enjoyable than a shrill beep or music he hated waking him up. Hearing the dogs bark and chatter in their own way amongst themselves was his daily motivation. Although having Jared on his couch seemed like a lovely added bonus that Christmas morning. Jared was already awake and sitting at the kitchen table feeding Dean who was a lively bundle of energy.

“Merry Christmas.” Jensen grinned.

“Merry Christmas to you too.” 

“Did you sleep okay?"

“Yeah, I did, thank you.”

“I usually have my breakfast after the pups have theirs, would you like to help me?”

“I would love to.” Jared said, grappling with Dean who was wriggling from his arms now that Sam was sat patiently by his side. “Is it alright if I set him down?”

“Sure, Sam is great with the babies. Today it might be a good idea for them to stay up here. Sam, you have a different job today, buddy. You’re going to look after little Dean today, okay?”

Sam wagged his tail and stood like the stoic elder statesman he was while Dean tormented and climbed all over him.

“I envy your work.” Jared sighed, watching the two very different dogs bond.

“It’s sad.” Jensen said pointedly, readying his coffee machine for later, his first caffeine fix always came after the dogs were seen to. “I won’t lie about that, we see some horrible things. Not all of our dogs are re-homed, although we’re trying to change that. But it’s the little stories like yours that make it worthwhile, you just turned up when Dean did and it was if you were made for one another. It’s hopeful to me and I cling onto the success stories because if I didn’t I would cry myself to sleep every night.”

“I’ll help you.” Jared nodded, slowly standing and rounding the table, surprising Jensen by pulling him in for a hug. “We’ll find homes for all of them, and if we don’t then we’ll adopt them all together.”

“You have such a gentle soul.” Jensen said, gradually easing the stiffness out of his body and allowing himself to sink into the cuddle which he gradually reciprocated. 

“We match one another good then.” Jared chuckled, slowly pulling away to allow a moment to happen between them. Sam was almost smirking with happiness. 

“Yes.” Jensen nodded, both of them blushing like teens crushing. “Alright, let’s go feed the gang. Be warned, it’s crazy fun.”

Jensen and Jared left Sam in charge of Dean, leaving them safely locked away in the apartment while they walked down to the kennels where they were greeted by wagging tails, whimpers of hunger (even though Jensen’s dogs _never_ went hungry), barks of happiness, a few displays of crazy zoomies from the smaller dogs and quite a lot of puppy dog eyes.

“Oh this is heaven. I mean it’s not because of why they’re here but they all so beautiful and healthy and so happy.” Jared beamed.

“My life’s work.” Jensen grinned. “Okay, so we have a few of the older girls and boys on special diets, if you could do those for me.” He said, nodding at a huge bag of food, stacked up bowls and a special measuring scoop. “They eat first because they don’t like being outside in the playground with the younger ones.”

“Okay.” Jared nodded, long hair hanging over his face which bounced as he did so. “Got it. And the others all go out to play after?”

“Yeah.” Jensen grinned broadly. “It’s so fun. I mean, the amount of crap they produce isn’t but the love they give you makes up for it.” He chuckled.

“I love how you love this. It’s quite sexy.” Jared blushed, filling the bowls with generous scoops of dog food.

“No one has ever said _that_ before.” Jensen mumbled.  
“ _I_ just did.” 

“I like it.” Jensen mumbled again, wandering off with a smug smile on his face to prepare the rest of the breakfasts. The food vanished in varying degrees of brief seconds and minutes mostly because the dogs knew that playground time was about to happen and although a few of them used their little ‘hotel’ rooms as toilets, most of them were trained well and keen to get out so they could relieve themselves outside.

“I can’t believe you let almost all of them out. How many are there for playground time?”

“Um.” Jensen frowned as he unlocked one door at a time, looking up to do a brief headcount. “I think today, because Sam is babysitting, twenty-one.”

“Wow.” Jared said, buzzing with excitement as he was slowly surrounded by happy escapees all sniffing and jumping, licking and going around in crazy circles. “This is the best Christmas ever. I love them all.”

“Same.” Jensen couldn’t help but smile broadly, watching Jared who was shuffling toward the back door with a crowd of exuberant dogs around him. “I just unlock the door, do I?”

“Yep, then they’ll run, so hold onto something.” Jensen snorted. Jared unlocked the door and stumbled as the surge of freedom from the dogs caught him like a tsunami.

“Oh Lord.” Jared chuckled. 

“I did warn you.” Jensen laughed loudly which kind of made him jump because as much as his pups made him happy, he realized then just how little he often laughed. 

Within ten minutes and while Jensen went around with his fancy top-of-the-range pooper scooper, Jared was laying on his back on the ground with half a dozen dogs jumping over him and cackling with unadulterated pure joy. A German Shepherd cross called Max seemed to take a particular shine to Jared who was being jumped upon, licked and pawed. The dog sat quite still, looking down at Jared with his pretty ears stood to attention, his tail wagging and the softest eyes Jensen had ever seen. It was like watching falling in love.

“Max likes you.” Jensen said, standing by Jared’s feet clutching a lovely bag of crap. 

“Which one is Max?”

“Him, the German Shepherd. I think he’s in love.” Jensen grinned and Jared turned his head to look at Max. The dog cocked his head to one side as his front paws politely tapped against the ground, revving up for attention. Jared sat up and reached out, stroking Max’s thick fur and velvety ears.

“You’re a lovely boy.” Jared grinned while Max, always known for his good behavior melted under Jared’s touch. Jensen felt a bit jealous. “What’s Max’s story?”

“Oh not good, but none of them are but I don’t want to upset you, not today. But the fact is, he’s fine now and that’s all that matters today.”

“Of course.” Jared nodded. “I kind of want him too now.” He chuckled. 

“I think you would take them all home if you could.”

“I think I probably would.”

Playground time was chaotic but not as chaotic as the end of playground time as Jensen and Jared rounded the pups up without the help of Sam who had become a bit of an expert in herding his housemates. When they were all finally back in the comfort and warmth of their kennels, Jensen lead Jared back up to his apartment so they could begin to prepare a Christmas dinner for twenty-nine. 

“Ugh, could you deal with those please.” Jensen said, passing Jared three fresh chickens from his fridge.

“Sure. You don’t like raw meat?” Jared asked, setting the chickens down on the counter.

“I’m vegan, so no. I, um I can’t call myself an animal lover if I eat them.” Jensen shuddered.

“You said you cook meat for the dogs on Christmas every year."

“I do, but it’s a struggle. That’s how much I love those dogs, dealing with meat. But you’re here this year to save me from the task.” Jensen grinned.

“I’m sorry I’m not a vegan, I’m not even a vegetarian.” Jared said sadly.

“Hey, it doesn’t matter. I’m not preachy about it. It’s fine. I’m quite happy with all my vegetables.” Jensen laughed.  
Moving around one another in Jensen’s tiny kitchen felt like something they had been doing for years, the kind of thing an older couple with decades of marriage behind them would have perfected, although Jared made it his personal mission to ‘accidentally’ bump in Jensen every once in a while who absolutely didn’t hate it. Cooking three large chickens at the same time was a nightmare since only two fit well into Jensen’s oven which lead to Jared tearing apart the third one with a crappy dull knife and his bare hands while Jensen gagged in the background as he prepared his beloved veggies. The food was eventually taken down to the kennels on trays decorated with sparkly tinsel and Jensen even had stockings for the pups, funded and filled with his own money and time. After the initial chaos and excitement, Jared and Jensen were able to sit at the desk by the kennels and eat their own cooling Christmas dinners. Sam sat by Jensen’s legs and Dean laid curled up on Jared’s lap, sleepy but occasionally waking up to sniff the air. And Max who vacuumed his dinner up in seconds sat with his face pressed up against his little room watching Jared intently with the biggest heart eyes not seen since Jensen stood his kitchen watching Jared fuss over Dean when he thought he wasn’t looking.

“How was the chicken?” Jensen asked, a little bloated having filled up on mashed potatoes.

“Tasted like chicken.” Jared grinned. “Thank you for today, I’m having fun.”

“I’m glad. You’ve helped me realize that people are important too.” Jensen nodded thoughtfully. “I put so much time and effort into these guys purely because of the result of what humans do, I forgot there are good people out there too.”

“What about your family and the people who come in and adopt?”

“I suppose you become complacent with family, I haven’t been hugely close to them since I told them I wasn’t going to college and they’re still vaguely ashamed of my job.”

“Serious?” Jared gasped.

“Yeah, but hey I know I do a good job here every day and so do these guys, so I’ve made peace with that. And as for the folks who adopt my babies, well I _am_ grateful to them but I just get the feeling sometimes that the dogs are often adopted more for status or by parents who have been pressured into it by their kids. I sometimes get bad vibes about people when I’m doing their adoption checks but if nothing bad comes up officially then my hands are tied. I can’t just say ‘No, I can’t let you take this dog’ with zero grounds to deny them.”

“So, what would you like to do with the dogs?”

“Live on a farm and keep them all, I’d still take in strays and unwanted ones but I’d do it away from the charity so that I _knew_ the ones who I would allow to be adopted were going to decent loving homes.”

“I’d come and live on the farm with you.” Jared said softly, looking up at Jensen from under his hair.

“Would you?”

“Hm.” Jared nodded. “I would, it sounds like a very peaceful and fulfilling life.”

“Well, I’d like you to be there too.” Jensen nodded and another moment sparked into life but that time, Jared reached across the small table and held Jensen’s hand.

“Can I kiss you?” Jared said, a little smile tugging at his lips.

“Yeah.” Jensen nodded. “You can.”

Jared leaned across the table and pressed a soft kiss against Jensen’s lips, it was all he had intended to offer but Jensen had other ideas as he grabbed at Jared’s mouth with his lips and kissed him back slow and easy.

“I’m looking for a good home.” Jared said, muttering against Jensen’s lips.

“That so?” Jensen chuckled deeply.

“Hm, do you think you’d pass all the checks?”

“Hell yes, for you I’d pass them all.” Jensen grinned.

“Consider me adopted.” Jared smirked. “But not like you’re my dad or my brother or anything, you know, more like a boyfriend.”

“I knew what you meant.” Jensen snorted.

Jared sat back in his chair, gazing at Jensen just as Max was gazing at him, Sam was looking up at both of them with love in eyes and Jensen for once had something more than dogs on his mind.

“Shall we go back up to your apartment and snuggle?”

“Okay.” Jensen chuckled. “But after playground time and this time, _you_ can pick up the dog crap.”

Jensen and Jared spend the rest of Christmas day giving the dogs an extended playtime after which they indulged themselves in more human activities like gorging on a box of vegan chocolates while watching crappy holiday movies and squeezing in a lot of kissing. Sam and Dean had bonded and were quite happy with one anothers company while Jensen and Jared got to know one another even better, staying up late and well into the next day talking and drinking lethal (vegan, of course) egg nog until they fell asleep in one anothers arms.  
Jared never went back to his apartment.


End file.
